


written in the stars

by XOLove47



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No SHIELD (Marvel), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, Geminids Exchange, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21799339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XOLove47/pseuds/XOLove47
Summary: Jemma Simmons had always been drawn to the stars. She supposed that was natural, as her life had been, quite literally, marked by them.[A Fitzsimmons Soulmate AU written for the Earth vs. Space Geminids Exchange]
Relationships: Jemma Simmons & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 20
Kudos: 85





	written in the stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [101places](https://archiveofourown.org/users/101places/gifts).



> I've always wanted to write a Soulmate AU and was so excited when @lnhumanity's Geminids exchange prompt gave me the perfect opportunity to put my own spin on one!

Jemma Simmons had always been drawn to the stars. She supposed that was natural, as her life had been, quite literally, marked by the stars.

On her 7th birthday, her personal mark had appeared on her left wrist. The constellation _Corona Borealis_ stood in stark relief against her creamy, previously unmarred skin. Her parents were over the moon at her mark. While not a major constellation, it was one full of meaning and positive associations. The largest star in the constellation was even known as Gemma.

“A crown for my little princess. How appropriate,” her father had said later that night, before showing her how to find the constellation in the sky. “This constellation will be your own personal north star. It’s important that you know where to find it, because it will always guide you home.” 

Then on her 13th birthday, a companion mark appeared on her right wrist-- a _soulmark_. The constellation _Leo_. Once again her parents congratulated her, this time in hushed, reverent tones. A true gift, they had called it.

While everyone had a personal mark, less than 20% of the population had a soulmark. Not even her parents had a soulmark, and they were still madly in love after 20 years of marriage.

Jemma was overwhelmed by the fact that somewhere out there was a person that the universe had deemed to be her perfect mate. A burgeoning scientist, Jemma threw herself into research. She devoured anything she could get her hands on about soulmarks-- scientific papers, first person accounts, even myths and legends. They each presented various points of view and theories, but one thing that they all agreed on was that you were more likely to meet your soulmate when both of your constellations were visible in the night sky. Which in her case, narrowed it down to sometime in the spring-- most likely April or May.

To a 13 year old girl, it had seemed like something out of a fairytale. But as she got older, she started to resent this “gift.” By her late teens, most of her friends were dating and Jemma felt left out. In their small town, everyone knew about her soulmark and the local boys wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole. It was incredibly isolating.

One day, her mum caught her scrubbing her wrist raw, trying to rid herself of her mark. When asked why, Jemma sniffled, “I don’t want a soulmate anymore. I want to be _normal_.”

Pulling her into a tight hug, she said, “Oh my dear, I know right now it feels like a burden, but I promise you, in the end, it will all be worth it. Your soulmark is something to be proud of. It means are destined for something special-- a love that is written in the stars.” 

At least college offered her a fresh start. When she left for school in Boston, Jemma decided to keep the fact that she had a soulmark to herself. She had taken to wearing long sleeves, even in the middle of summer, so not to draw attention to her dual marks. Eventually, she even tried dating, but once they found out she had a soulmark they all ran in the opposite direction. Not that she blamed them. The stories of what happened to couples where one half had a soulmark and the other did not were horrifying.

By her 23rd birthday, she had shoved the idea of finding her soulmate to the back of her mind and just focused on living her life. Alone.

* * *

“Earth to Jemma,” her roommate Daisy said, waving her hand in front of Jemma’s face.

It was a beautiful April day, so they were taking full advantage and hanging out on their rooftop deck.

Jemma blushed, “Sorry, I guess I zoned out there for a second. What were you saying? Something about the movies?”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it by now,” Daisy laughed, as she rolled her eyes. “Bobbi just texted to see if we wanted to go see a movie tonight with her and Yoyo.”

“Sounds like fun. What movie?”

Daisy picked up her phone and scrolled through her messages, “Bobbi said she really wants to see _Starcrossed_. 7:30 at Boston Common.”

Jemma wrinkled her nose, “Isn't that that new soulmate romantic comedy?”

Realization dawned on Daisy’s face, “Oh, I’m an idiot. Of course, you don’t want to see that. I’ll tell Bobbi we can’t go.”

Daisy was one of the few people who knew about Jemma’s soulmark and her subsequent dislike of the genre. But just because Daisy was a good friend that didn’t mean that she should be punished for Jemma’s personal hang ups.

“No, that’s silly. You should go. Don’t miss out on my account.”

Daisy looked at her skeptically, “Are you sure? We could try to convince her to see something else.”

“You and I both know she’ll never go for that,” Jemma said, shaking her head. “Besides she might ask why I don’t want to see it and I really don’t feel like opening that particular can of worms.”

“I don’t know, Jems. I don’t want to leave you here all alone…”

“Honestly, I have so much work to do. I’ll just be holed up in my room studying,” Jemma said.

“Picturing you under a mountain of books while I’m out having fun is not helping to ease my guilty conscience.”

“And how is that different from any other weekend?”

“Fair enough,” Daisy caved. “I’ll go, but under protest. Just promise me you won’t spend the whole night working.”

“Promise. Now you should probably go get ready if you want to actually see the movie.”

Daisy looked at her watch, “Crap, you’re right. I’ll see you later.”

* * *

Jemma hadn’t been exactly lying to Daisy when she had a lot of work. A PhD student studying Biochem at MIT, there was always something to do between her coursework, TA responsibilities and her thesis. But at the same time, there wasn’t anything that _urgently_ needed her attention. 

After spending an hour half-heartedly working on her thesis, she gave up and closed her laptop with a thud. Wandering over to the window, she looked up at the night sky.

Despite her complicated relationship with her soulmark, she still felt drawn to the stars. They gave her a sense of home and belonging.

That gave her an idea. 

One of the first things that she did when she first moved to Boston was find a place where she could see the stars. It wasn’t easy in such a big city, with all of the light pollution. But after some searching, she found a small park near the harbor that was far enough from downtown that she could stargaze. It was a hidden gem and better yet, it was within walking distance of her apartment.

Shoving a book, some snacks and a blanket into her bag, she headed to the park. 

After laying out her blanket, the first thing that Jemma did was first locate the _Corona Borealis_ and then, _Leo_ , just like her father had taught her. The twinkling stars above instilled her with a sense of peace and comfort. Coming here always helped ground her.

Pulling a book from her bag, she figured she might as well get some reading in. 

But not two minutes later, her thoughts were interrupted by a Scottish brogue behind her, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize anybody else would be here. I don’t want to disturb you.”

Spinning around, Jemma saw a man about her age standing there. With curly brown hair and bright blue eyes, he had his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans and was shifting the weight on his feet nervously. 

“It’s a public park, don’t feel like you have leave on my account. I promise you won’t disturb me unless you’re planning on doing something truly heinous, like listen to music without headphones,” Jemma said, eyes narrowing suspiciously. “You weren’t planning on doing anything like that were you?”

“No, no, nothing like that. I just moved here from the UK and found this place yesterday when I was walking around. It was overcast last night, but seemed like it would be a good spot to stargaze,” the man explained, as he glanced up at the sky, scattered with thousands of stars. “Seems like I was right.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely one of the best within city limits. But do try to keep it to yourself, it’s my favorite spot in the city and don’t want it word getting out. Imagine if it ended up on one of those awful clickbait listicles of best places to stargaze,” Jemma shuddered at the thought.

“Mum’s the word. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your book,” the man gestured to the book in her hands, but his eyebrows raised when he saw the title. “Lehninger’s Principles of Biochemistry? Is that your idea of a bit of light Saturday reading?”

“Life of PhD student. I’m working on my thesis and figured if I was going to do some work on Saturday, it might as well be under the stars.”

“I had the same thought,” he said, sheepishly producing a book from his bag.

“Oh, what are you studying?” Jemma asked, curiosity piqued.

“Mechanical engineering. I’m transferring from Cambridge to MIT to finish up my doctorate.”

“Really? I go to MIT. What a small world.”

Jemma launched into providing some tips and recommendations on navigating MIT as an expat. “Bosworth’s near campus makes a tolerable cup of tea,” she advised.

But the conversation soon moved away from topics like academics and tea to pop culture and family.

They had a startling amount of things in common. She had never felt so immediately at ease with another person. _If only her soulmate would turn out to be someone like him_.

Before she could continue down that line of thought, her companion said, “You know, we’ve been talking for the better part of an hour and I just realized I don’t even know your name.”

Smiling, Jemma thrust her hand out, “Jemma Simmons.”

“Leopold Fitz. But everyone just calls me Fitz,” he said by way of introduction, as he grasped her hand.

The moment their hands touched, Jemma saw stars and an electric shock shot up her arm, originating from her soulmark. The rest of the world faded away and all Jemma could see was Fitz. 

When she regained her senses, she asked shakily, “You wouldn’t happen to have a soulmark, would you?”

Nodding, Fitz rolled up his sleeve to reveal a soulmark with the _Corona Borealis_ on his right wrist, but instead of the usual inky black, it was glowing. Jemma pushed up her sleeve to reveal a glowing mark of her own-- just like the legends said it would when she met her soulmate.

Instinctively, Jemma reached out and grabbed his arm. As she traced the mark lightly, _reverently,_ it seemed to respond to her touch and the glowing intensified.

Suddenly realizing how close she was standing to Fitz, she looked up and whispered, “Hi.”

“Hi,” he replied, before closing the short distance and capturing her lips in a kiss, the first in a lifetime of kisses. It was soft and sweet and passionate-- in a word, perfect.

After a beat, Jemma deepened the kiss, one hand snaked around Fitz’s neck. Fitz’s hands settled on the small of her back, pulling her even closer, as if he was afraid she would disappear if he let go.

When they finally broke apart, Jemma rested her forehead against Fitz’s, her _soulmate_.

She still couldn’t quite believe it. After all of the loneliness and doubt, they had somehow found one another. 

Her father had been right-- the stars _had_ guided her home.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this :) I had a ton of fun writing it! 
> 
> As always, if you want to come say hi, you can find me over on tumblr @accio-the-force!


End file.
